'Hard Knocks' Ep. 4 Review: Agonizing Decisions
The Detroit Lions faced a variety of tough decisions headed into roster cutdown day Tuesday. And, the agonizing nature of making such personnel moves was profiled during episode No. 4 of "Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Detroit Lions".
"You have to make some tough decisions and unfortunately let some players go," Lions general manager Brad Holmes told the 'Hard Knocks' film crew. "And, it's tough, because there's a human being element that's involved. But, you have to make the decision."
As has been emphasized since day one of the Holmes-Dan Campbell regime, the Lions deploy a collaborative approach when it comes to the construction of their team.
It was once again on display during the latest episode of the hit HBO series Tuesday night. Specifically, Campbell and Holmes were shown in a war room, evaluating members of the roster with both the coaching staff and the front office.
"We run a very collaborative process, and we'll start off with the position," Holmes said. "That position coach will go through his rankings for that position at the current time. Then, a member of the personnel department will go through that same position group. Then, our coordinator will sum it up at the end."
Holmes views the aforementioned talent evaluators as "artists."
"All our evaluators are artists, and their artwork is on display," Holmes expressed. "And, I've always said that the beauty of scouting is you got to encourage independent thought and you got to encourage the artistry of evaluation."
After Holmes and Campbell conclude their evaluation period with the assistant coaches and front office, they then hold their own meeting to discuss the state of the roster.
As Holmes put it, he and Campbell end up "digesting a lot of information from a lot of different people."
The episode then moved on to the player-run practice that was held last week, leading into Detroit's preseason finale with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
At one point in the practice, Lions starting signal-caller Jared Goff was caught jokingly saying, "Who needs 'f*****g coaches?"
Tim Boyle, who has since been cut, was seen calling plays for the offense, including dialing up Goff's long touchdown pass to Kalif Raymond.
It led into Detroit quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell talking about how he's been excited by the play of Goff throughout training camp.
Meanwhile, Goff expressed how he's got more confidence this year in his receivers going to get balls, specifically wideouts Josh Reynolds and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Then, a lighter moment followed in which the former L.A. Rams passer was seen working with a group of high school students on his clothing line.
During this episode, a group of unheralded players were also profiled, most notably running back Craig Reynolds and rookie linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez.
Reynolds' dad, Eric Reynolds Sr., attended a practice at the Lions' Allen Park practice facility.
Then, the story of the younger Reynolds was briefly told.
The episode mentions how Reynolds attended Kutztown University, a small, Pennsylvania-based public university, and went undrafted. It then details how he started off his pro career on the practice squad of the Washington Commanders, plus has spent time on four different NFL teams (and in as many seasons).
John Morton, a Lions offensive assistant, said during the episode, "I wouldn't cut him," in reference to Reynolds. Reynolds, indeed, was kept as part of Detroit's season-opening 53-man roster. And, he was kept ahead of the likes of the more proven Justin Jackson and Godwin Igwebuike, a capable special teams performer.
Rodriguez is also shown with family members during this episode. He is seen talking to his mom, dad and brother in a hotel room in Pittsburgh, before the Lions' preseason contest with the Steelers. The trio is also seen in the stands during the aforementioned game.
Rodriguez, who is shown making a tackle in the exhibition tilt by the camera crew of Hard Knocks, was one of Detroit's top performers all camp long. And subsequently, he should see some meaningful action to start his rookie campaign.
Not everyone ended the preseason on a positive note, however. Undrafted rookies Obinna Eze and Kalil Pimpleton struggled in their final snaps of the exhibition season, and ultimately were left off the Lions' roster to open up the 2022 campaign.
It's a sad reality that many players have to accept, and Campbell talked about it in the postgame of Detroit's final preseason contest.
"This is the hard, cold truth," Campbell expressed. "We're sitting at 80 (players), and we have to get to 53. And, it's a bitch, man, and it's the worst part of this f*****g job."
